The Ties That Bind
by AnnaRinzler
Summary: Begins during the Terra arc. An inside look at exactly how Slade discovered Terra in the first place, and how his behind the scenes apprentice just might have something to do with it...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

She was a remarkably bright girl. That was the reason he'd noticed her, because Slade never took notice of anyone unless they displayed some sort of defining characteristic that deserved his attention. He would have never crossed paths with the Birmingham, Alabama native under normal circumstances, and he counted it as a stroke of luck (and careful research) that they had crossed paths. She was an ordinary little thing, a tall, thin wisp of a girl with straw-colored hair and strange, somber eyes. But the wonderful about her was that she always did what he said. He'd never expected Robin or any other apprentice he picked up off the street to be loyal to him, but this one _needed _to be. She didn't have anything substantial to go back to and he exploited that as much as was humanly possible. He let her lean on him and in return he gave her a purpose, saving her from the soul-crushing tedium of the 9 to 5 desk job that would have surely awaited her after college.

"Diana."

His slow, unhurried voice hit the computer screen in the foreground, echoing back into the silence of the underground cavern until it reached the ears of the girl standing a few yards behind him. Slade stood and pushed back his computer chair, turning on one heel and hitting the escape key on his keyboard without looking at it. The screen displaying a picture of a frail blond faded to black. The girl in question stood before him, her face unreadable. She was thin and looked cold, standing in the drafty cavern wearing black shorts and a black tank top, and she was almost the spitting image of his current target. When his gaze became more scrutinizing her jaw tightened. Diana pulled her long, blond braid forward and began tugging the end of it. The unconscious motion was a nervous habit that he had made a note of on day one of her employment.

"Why do you have a file about Terra?"

The question was measured and polite, but his ears picked up the barest trace of edgy aggression. She looked up at him, her large eyes flickering warily over his smooth copper mask. It showed her no trace of humanity, not even the barest hint that he was anything but a soulless robot. He liked to keep it that way. Diana's face, on the other hand, was wonderfully expressive, and was currently filled to the brim with confusion.

"She's dangerous. And she might be trying to find you…we certainly can't have that, can we?"

Slade watched her expression soften as she silently pondered the information he'd given her. The lie wasn't easy to sell. From what he had gathered Terra wasn't looking for her half-sister, she was simply trying to run away—far away, from all of the mistakes she had managed to make in a scant thirteen years. Diana never contacted her little sister or other relatives, which was one of the many conditions of her employment. She was estranged from the family anyway. This had been icing on the cake when he'd taken an interest in her.

"Of course not," the twenty-two-year-old responded, giving Slade a sharp nod that brought a Cheshire grin to his masked face.

The lie as it stood was going to be impossible to maintain. He wanted Terra, coveted the awesome power that she possessed, and for months had been planning to lure the girl in. However, getting Terra's older sister to accept and embrace that idea would be difficult at best. The worst-case scenario would occur if Diana simply tried to walk out on him for his new choice. He trusted his abilities to bring her down with no problems, but what would he _do_ with his former second-in-command? Could he bring himself to simply put a bullet in her head? Obviously he could, but dealing with the regret over the loss of his living, breathing investment, his best work, would take months to get over. In an ideal situation Slade could have both of them, but the one-eyed man knew that situations like these usually turned out to be less-than-ideal.

"Walk with me."

Slade's voice echoed off of the cavernous walls around them as he moved toward Diana, placing a guiding hand at her back as she walked out of the raw, unstructured cave and into the hallway of their compound. She instinctively knew where they were going and led the way out, past the reinforced doors and into the calm, cool night air. Diana's black ballet flats were silent on the hard red dirt of the desert, and the wind blowing did nothing to detract from her ramrod-straight posture as she looked up at the stars. They had their routine. If something important needed to be said it was said here, with the mesas at their backs and the protective darkness that blanketed the both. On occasion the pair of them would simply sit and look up at the stars. He had taught her the constellations, their names, and how they changed with the seasons. But now was not the time for idle star-gazing.

"Terra could pose a problem for us," Slade began, turning to observe the faint outline of her features set in twilight.

"I know she could. How long has she been in the region?"

"Eight days."

"Have there been any incidents?"

"Two. None close enough to population centers for anyone to take particular note."

Diana fell silent. He could barely see her biting her lip, mulling over the information as her green eyes flickered over the ground in front of them. Diana had been seventeen when she left home for good. Terra, at the time, was merely eight. The information Slade had gathered revealed that Terra's power had manifested itself when she was four.

"What would you have me do?" Slade asked finally, acting as if he didn't know, as if Diana had any say in the matter whatsoever.

Ordinarily, she would have. He trusted her completely, or at least as completely as a man in his position could trust another person. Though she wasn't his equal intellectually, the girl came damn near close and he tended to ask her input on more than a few things. This was different.

"You should bring her in," she said finally, breathing out a sigh, "Bring her here."

"I agree," Slade replied, the cold copper mask hiding his wicked grin.

**Author's Note: So, obviously I am re-doing The Ties That Bind. Same characters, but I re-named my main character. I'm going for a more realistic flair here, and I think it will be better than the original. We'll see!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans._

"Push."

Diana obeyed. Her arms were straight behind her, palms facing out as Slade held them in place. With a wince she completed the stretch, her sore muscles screaming in protest. It had been a long day. Not that she'd ever say as much, as her employer wasn't particularly fond of what he referred to as "useless personal commentary", and neither was she. Turning to face him, Diana rotated her shoulders and massaged her neck as she glanced to her right at the training room's exit. Terra was somewhere in the compound now, presumably in her room. The other girl's presence was like an itch on the back of Diana's brain, something she could never seem to fully stop thinking about.

"You seem distracted."

A jolt of adrenaline ran through her as she looked up at Slade with what she hoped were steady eyes. His arms were crossed but his tone was light and pleasant, which typically meant trouble. Perhaps he wasn't happy with the way her mission had gone, though she'd achieved the directive in a reasonable amount of time. Diana remained silent for what seemed like an eternity, but Slade didn't budge or change the subject as she'd hoped. He could out-stare anyone.

"It's Terra," she replied flatly, "I can't seem to put her out of my mind."

"Doubtless your sister's presence has put you on edge," Slade responded, and she fought the urge to correct him.

Half-sister. Not sister. Not someone she had anything in common with to speak of. The fact that they had some of the same DNA didn't stop Diana from resenting her very existence. It didn't matter now, of course, didn't matter that their unfaithful mother had cheated on Diana's father with one of his coworkers, that her parents had split up when she was a girl, that Terra couldn't reign in her power in the slightest. None of it should matter.

"Bringing Terra here has preoccupied you and amplified your feelings toward your family. When you joined me you swore that you had put those feelings aside."

"I _have," _she replied, fiercely staring up at him, "I won't lose focus again."

"See that you _don't_, my dear, or we will have a serious problem. Especially since _you_ will be Terra's primary instructor."

Her eyes widened but Diana otherwise didn't react. She knew Slade would catch even this betrayal of her emotions, however, and she drew herself up to her full height and gave him a stoic nod. The childish side of Diana supposed that he was punishing her for something, but the adult part of her knew better. In the desert Slade had purposefully left his communicator on, letting her track his location as he hunted Terra and finally found her, filling her head with dreams of controlling her power and living in peace. All Terra would have to do, he'd said, was come with him. And she had. Diana could only wait and see what would happen and pray that the girl didn't become a permanent fixture.

"She should be in her room. I want you to go to her now that she's had a chance to familiarize herself with the environment," Slade continued, "You'll go alone, so the girl doesn't get the idea that you and I are trying to gang up on her. Stop in, let her know the schedule for tomorrow, and report back to me. Clear?"

"Of course," she responded a little too quickly, padding off of the cushioned training floor and slipping on her black sandals.

Walking the short distance to Terra's room, Diana rapped one knuckle on the door and folded her arms. The situation was ridiculous. It was like a scene out of a normal family's life, with the elder sister impatiently waiting on the younger to open up. The door to Terra's room finally slid open and she popped her head out, eyes wide as she took in Diana's carefully neutral face. She'd probably been expecting Slade, though he'd warned her that her half-sister would be there.

"Uh…hey," Terra said, slowly drawing back away from the door and allowing Diana to enter the room.

Her green eyes automatically flickered over the stark surroundings. There was nothing but a bed, dresser, mirror, and small nightstand, all made of somber aluminum, and Terra had brought nothing but the duffel bag resting on the bed's plain, navy-blue comforter. The girl in front of her was thin and frail looking, her long blond hair wind-blown and dusty. She wore tattered clothes that were equally as dirty. Obviously Terra hadn't taken advantage of her private bathroom yet to have a shower. Her blue eyes were large and solemn as they apprehensively took in Diana.

"Hello Terra," she replied flatly, unsure of how to get the conversation going.

"So you work for Slade now?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Weird. You kinda sound like him now too."

Diana felt her face grow hot and shrugged. Slade had specifically mentioned that he didn't want Terra to develop a "me vs. them" mentality, but Slade's resident computer specialist didn't really know how to approach the subject of Terra's residency any other way.

"Well, all of that aside, we've got some work to do, starting tomorrow at eight a.m. sharp. I'll be"—

"How am I supposed to get up in time? There aren't any windows in here, I can't even see the sun rise—oh."

With a heavy sigh, Diana walked over to the nightstand and reached under its rim, pushing a button that allowed the thin, square, built-in alarm clock to slide directly up from its slot, where it had previously stayed flush with the middle of the stand's surface. She programmed it to ring at seven every day and the blue numbers on the screen beeped once to confirm her submission.

"That's pretty cool," Terra admitted, plopping her gangly body on the bed, "Did you make that? I know you work with computers and stuff."

"No, this furniture is standard-issue military equipment…okay look, Slade gave me a plan for tomorrow. You're going to meet me in the kitchen at nine for breakfast, and then after that we're going shopping. It's not going to be _fun, _but you have to have new clothes and supplies and things, and I highly doubt that you'll want to sleep on those scratchy sheets forever. In the afternoon, we're going to start training. Meditation, basic exercises, that kind of thing. Got it?"

"I guess so," Terra said hesitantly, glancing behind her at the dirty duffel bag on her bed, "But who's paying for"—

"Slade's taking care of everything, don't worry. I'll see you in the morning. Try and get some rest."

"Okay," she tentatively responded, "Night."

"Goodnight," Diana stated, walking back out through the sliding door, which moved open to let her pass.

It had gone better than she expected, really. She'd managed to convey the message without any trouble or whining from Terra, and without the girl thinking that she and Slade were ganging up on her for whatever reason. Terra was still hesitant around her, as was understandable. Their relationship as younger children hadn't exactly been a picture of harmony. Hopefully Terra would embrace the training, otherwise she'd continue to be a danger to herself and others, particularly Diana. She couldn't afford for Jump City to deem the girl a nuisance, and although super-powered individuals were a dime a dozen, and Diana didn't want people poking into her past. She was being paranoid and Slade was just trying to be thorough, of course. She'd burned her birth certificate, driver's license, old photographs…pretty much everything that tied her to her previous life. But Terra was not so easily gotten-rid of, and there was no way in hell Diana was going to let her sister be the thing that exposed her actions as Slade's employee to the public. Entering the cavernous room where most of their computer equipment was stored, Diana stopped a few feet behind Slade's chair, where he busily sat writing code.

"How did it go?" He asked finally, removing his gloved hands from the keys and standing to face her.

"It went well. Terra's aware of our plans for tomorrow and hasn't expressed any unwillingness to cooperate so far, even with me."

"Good," Slade replied, "Get some rest. You'll need all of your strength for tomorrow."

Diana gave him a nod as he walked past her, her face betraying none of the apprehension slowly building up in her chest.

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry I've neglected this story for so long! I'm currently re-writing it, as you can tell, and I'd really love to get some opinions/criticism of the re-write. I'm obviously going for something darker and I'm going to be switching from Slade's POV to Diana's in each chapter. What do you guys think about the redo so far?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It amazed him that the two women hadn't managed to kill each other off by the end of their first week together. Slade gave all of the credit to their time-consuming goal, though perhaps a bit of credit should go to Diana's maturity level. After all, she wasn't a hormone-driven teenager like her sister, prone to the bursts of exasperation accompanied by terse little sighs that signaled when Terra was fed up with something. When he bothered to check in on the pair of them, Slade often found Diana doing her very best to remain calm and poised, while Terra threw out the word "Why?" at least once a minute. Now that there were two women (or rather, girls) in his compound, the criminal mastermind was starting to develop a cloying sense of claustrophobia around all of that estrogen. Thank God for Wintergreen, who was equally comfortable functioning as a cook, accountant, and part-time babysitter, and thank God that he could leave the majority of Terra's lessons to her sister, at least for now.

Though calling his young wards "apprentices" helped lend some credulence to the "deranged psychopath with illusions of grandeur" angle he was working, Slade was not a terribly gifted teacher. Even before the Army's harsh chemicals had washed through his system, rewired his brain, and rewrote his thoughts to make him better, stronger, faster, Slade possessed no great understanding as to why the rest of the world couldn't learn as quickly as he did. Luckily Diana was almost a complete package when he'd found her, stretching at the barre, the smirking eyes of Selina Kyle guiding him to her most gifted student. She may not have had a career as a professional ballerina ahead of her, but Diana had a computer science degree and an enthusiasm for krav maga, and he had put both of those things to good use on more than one occasion. Slade spied on her now on the monitors at his control desk, her expressive hand gestures enhancing whatever it was she happened to be saying to Terra as they conversed near Slade's hidden cameras. He had the pair of them on mute as they sat outside, cross-legged on the desert rocks that would become hotter as the morning faded into afternoon. Diana's green eyes were serious; Terra's blue gaze merely bored. Terra didn't have her sister's easy grace. Of course, Slade hadn't hired Diana to waltz around and look pretty. He'd hired her because she wasn't a crude, promising amalgamation of desirable character traits. She was a complete person, and it was only from time to time that he augmented her routine with customized training sessions. Robin had been much the same, though the psychological torture of working for Slade would have eventually driven him insane, which was of course the whole point.

Slade's hands moved swiftly over the black keyboard as he typed a message to Diana. It was time to stop dwelling in the past and mulling over the future. There would be time enough for his brain to turn over the events of the day, but he needed to see what Terra could do in the present. She seemed resistant to many of the techniques Diana had been trying to teach her, especially those involving patience and small, progressive steps. For Terra there was no end in sight. She was impatient and frustrated, easily tired by their training schedule, and apparently didn't see the merit in much of what she was being taught. Insolent girl. There were people, metahumans and normals alike, who would saw a leg off just for a day's worth of his training and direction. Still, he couldn't let his irritation get in the way of accomplishing his goal of breaking the Titans. The suit Diana had stolen a week prior would be an excellent means of tapping Terra's power. He had briefly toyed with the idea of putting Terra in the suit and letting her loose on the city, but only very briefly. It would be best to divide the Titans first, to sabotage them from the inside out. If he could plant Terra amongst them, have her gather intelligence from them…well. He had a long way to go before she was ready for _that. _

Slade was alone with his thoughts for the short time it took to walk from his control room to the side of the compound where Diana and Terra had previously been meditating. The duo was standing up, Diana casually examining something under her nails while Terra wrung her hands and shifted from foot to foot. He could read their body language all too well. The younger Markov sister was nervous and agitated, and the elder was irritated about something. She only bit her lip like that when she was struggling not to say something, and her cheekbones had an angry red flush that he found unsettling.

"Ladies," Slade began calmly, clasping his hands behind his back, "Let's see if we can put in motion what Terra's learned in the scant week she's been here. Terra, explain to me why meditation is an essential element of your training."

The hot sun beat down on them as Diana's eyes narrowed and Terra stared down at her feet, as if she could pry the answer from the dirt under her shoes. So. He'd hit on what was irking them both. It hadn't been hard to figure it out, of course, considering how predictive Terra was. He didn't expect her to embrace meditation, especially since it involved sitting still and not talking for long periods of time, though he'd hoped she would have stopped arguing with her sister over it by now. But still, Slade kept his tone neutral and attempted to at least feign patience. It wouldn't do to terrify the girl this early.

"Terra? The answer isn't written on the rocks at your feet."

"It's—I mean, y'know, for keeping me grounded and…for control"—

"_Exactly. _You lack the emotional _control _to act as a proper channel for your power. You can't stop it from reacting to your emotions, when what you need to do is separate the two. Divide your emotions from your power, and you'll be able to turn it on and off at will, so to speak."

"Right," Terra replied uneasily, her eyes flickering to Diana as the other girl silently moved to stand beside Slade.

"We've been working on basic breathing exercises," Diana said calmly, folding her arms across her chest, "But Terra hasn't been able to clear her mind for any extended work, she keeps getting distracted by outside stimuli."

"It's _hot, okay_?" she replied, a blush darkening her face, "And it's not my fault that there's bugs and stuff out here"—

"I _know_ it's not your fault," her sister responded, "But you need to focus"—

"I'm trying!" Terra snapped, swiping at the perspiration on her forehead.

"Terra, stop," Slade warned.

He stared at the golden glow already forming at the edge of the girl's fingertips and backed up to give her space. Slade didn't want to see one of her famous meltdowns, but her eyes hadn't started to glow yet so he was still in the clear, at least for the moment.

"Terra, calm down, okay?"

"Don't tell me to calm down, Diana! I don't even know why Slade let's you tell me what to d"—

It all happened at once as the giant boulder exploded into several pieces, one barely missing Slade's head as he ducked and turned, vaulting over another chunk of earth to locate the source of the scream that came from behind it. The dust in the air settled as quickly as it had flown up. Terra was fine, of course she was, gasping and standing off to the side from the boulder's origin, and what he found was Diana on the ground instead, choking for breath as he sank to his knees beside her. Everything around Slade felt deadly calm. His anger buzzed in his head like a steady drone of bees as he knelt beside her, his greatest investment, the one he had poured so many hours and pass codes and instructions into. Diana lay bleeding on the ground, her breathing shallow and quick, and Slade looked up at Terra, wishing she could see the dark look on his face as his eye narrowed to a slit.

"_Go,"_ He said, his voice so low and terrible that she started running at the sound of it, "Wait for me to call you."

With Terra fleeing into the compound his anger began subsiding as he sat in the dirt beside the wounded girl, watching her face for signs that she was going into shock. She remained where she was, her features white with pain as she groaned and moved a weak hand to her bloodied thigh. There was a similar, jagged cut down the side of her calf but it wasn't as sickeningly deep as the one higher up on her leg. Slade pressed her hand to his heart as he smoothed away errant strands of hair from her face and she clutched at his shirt, her grip like an iron vice.

"Can you breathe?" He asked flatly, noting the tears that were starting to trickle out of the corners of her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling, "Is anything else injured besides your leg?"

"M-my ribs," Diana croaked, gesturing when he let go of her fingers and shakily pulling up the edge of her shirt, "That's all. Slade it hurts so badly…please. _Please."_

"_I've never heard her beg for anything," _Slade silently reflected, scooping Diana up in a swift motion and turning her pleading into a strangled scream.

She never asked for much unless it served his purposes. More equipment, more space, more robots…none of it was for her. So unlike Terra, who was perpetually asking Diana or Wintergreen to suit _her_ needs. It was such a pity that Diana hadn't been gifted with Terra's power. She'd be the perfect little soldier if she had, but he would have to make do with teaching Terra and sending Diana out for the odd robbery here and there. When he walked into the infirmary, holding her as immobile as humanly possible, Slade gently laid out his employee on the operating table, grateful that he couldn't see bone in her bloody leg. If he had they would have been in real trouble, and he'd have made the executive decision to have her driven elsewhere and taken care of by an actual doctor. She wouldn't die on him, he'd never let that happen. He needed her. Slade would never get back the time and effort he'd expended on Diana, and at this stage a replacement was unimaginable.

"You're going to be fine," he stated coldly, drawing a knife out of his utility belt and slitting her shorts, tank top, and sports bra up both sides, "Keep breathing. Let me know if your airway feels restricted."

Slade tossed the dirt-encrusted clothes in the waste bin underneath the stainless steel table and walked to the cabinets that flanked the room, pulling out a small tablet screen and wireless heart monitor leads from one of the drawers. It was without emotion that he placed them on the trembling, half-naked girl and switched on the tablet to monitor her vital signs. She looked as if she might pass out at any moment.

"Keep the stitches small," Diana whispered with a small grin, her voice shaking under the weight of false bravado.

He returned the look under his mask as he plunged a needle into the girl's arm, its contents sending her into a peaceful, painless oblivion.

"I'll keep that in mind," Slade sighed, throwing away the empty syringe as he reached around to undo his mask.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry I suck at updates. :( Any reviews/criticism for the revamping of this story is greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

She wasn't exactly asleep, but no one could call her awake. Later Diana would claim that she could draw up feelings and hazy, blurred sights and sounds by concentrating on the memory of that day very, very hard, but for the moment she might as well have been unconscious. She tossed and turned for an unknown period of time before opening her eyes and yawning, stretching out as if she'd just woken up from a long nap. A throbbing protest in her leg made Diana cringe and sit up, fully awake from the jolt of pain. The stiff, white hospital sheets rustled underneath her as she pulled them away from her leg, exposing her bandaged thigh and calf.

"Careful."

She didn't look up from the white gauze wrapped in layers around her skin. Diana's brain was still struggling to recall the events that had led her so unceremoniously to the place she was in, but when they came back to her the girl's mouth pursed in a thin line. Terra. Slade walked farther into the room as Diana gingerly touched her injured leg. She didn't try to bend it and instead glanced up at Slade, the breath catching in her throat. Her savior leaned against the hospital bed, arms casually folded over a black t-shirt as he turned his upper body to look down at her. The fabric was taut against his skin and she could see the outline of his powerful, rippling muscles through it, but his form wasn't what held her gaze. Diana could count on one hand the number of times she had seen him without the mask, and each time what her eyes were drawn to was his hair. At the moment it was parted down the side and slightly tousled, and she wordlessly dropped her eyes before the urge to run her fingers through it grew any stronger. It looked soft. But more than that, it made him look like an angel. That hair combined with the smooth skin of a man in his early thirties and strong jaw surely turned some heads on the street, if he ever went out dressed normally. Diana's evil angel was wickedly handsome, but most of the time she was able to put that thought out of her head.

"How's the pain?"

"Tolerable," Diana replied, watching Slade as he pulled out the tablet computer he carried with him, presumably to check her vitals.

She could feel the leads attached to her skin and Diana flushed, suddenly self-conscious about being clad only in a bed sheet and her underwear. Her hands curled around the edges of the sheet and she positioned it so that it covered more of her body.

"Are you sure you're quite all right?" Slade asked, glancing down at his computer to give the heart monitor reading another glance.

She frowned and began to grow suspicious. His normally-flat tone had an undercurrent of curiosity and he was studying Diana's face closely, which couldn't be good for her. Anything that held Slade's attention like that tended to have horrible repercussions for the object of his interest.

"Just a bit sore," Diana replied, "I think the morphine's making me feel off."

"Perhaps," he speculated emotionlessly, "Though I did give you a very low dosage. You were only out for about an hour and a half and I've no desire to medicate you too heavily. It'll be Tylenol from here on out."

She gave a generic murmur and looked down, picking at a loose thread in the scratchy hospital linens. There really wasn't a good way to thank him. They were close, too close, for a boss and an employee, but it wasn't as if they were friends either. Diana's heart skipped a beat and she raised her eyes to Slade when he leaned in closer, gently tilting up her chin with the hand that wasn't holding his tablet computer. His eye flickered over her face, assessing the damage.

"You did hit your head, but I don't think that's left more than a faint bruise…the other wounds will heal up soon."

Slade released her jaw and glanced down at his screen. Diana let out the breath that she didn't know she'd been holding and resumed fiddling with her sheet. For the first time upon awakening she thought of Terra. During the incident she'd heard Terra scream. She felt a brief stab of pity for the much-younger girl. The fact that she had the power wasn't her fault, and no one had been around to teach her how to use it very well so it was no wonder it was raging out of control.

"Slade?"

"Hm?" He asked, glancing up from his screen, a quizzical expression on his features.

"Is Terra…is she doing alright? She's not hurt, is she?"

It was the wrong thing to say. Something in his face shifted and he leaned away from her.

"Terra's status shouldn't be your principle concern."

"_Slade,_" Diana said emphatically, leaning forward and placing her bare hand on his before she realized what she was doing, "You know that I've always been completely focused on the current mission. I won't let Terra complicate that. Besides, it's been all of a week, and"—

"Enough."

The word hung in the air, commanding the silence that followed. There was no malice behind it, no force— the fact that their fingers were still laced together was an indication in and of itself that he wasn't terribly angry—there was only emotionless weight in the dead air. Diana was instantly and completely still. She fought to keep her eyes from rolling in the back of her head when he began lightly stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. Biting her lip as a shiver ran through her, she warily watched Slade's face and looked for a reaction. His features were smooth and relaxed.

"Terra is shaken up, but there isn't a scratch on her. I'm more concerned about you Diana, and you should be as well. _Focus."_

"I'm sorry, Slade."

They were interrupted by two light taps on the door that gently opened to reveal an older gentleman carrying a tray that Diana assumed was for her. Slade separated his hand from hers and she felt a pang, but she couldn't help but grin at seeing Wintergreen. His hair was as white as Slade's but appropriately so, as proven by the wrinkles that aged his dignified, clean-shaven features.

"Miss Diana," Wintergreen said, setting the tray down on her bedside table, "Your lunch, if you choose to have it today."

"Thank you," she said quietly, and even Slade gave the older man a nod and a brief smile before Wintergreen made his exit.

Wintergreen was a neutral force in the compound. He always had been. Diana knew without having to ask that he was closer to Slade than she would ever get. The pair of them were almost friends, or at least as close to being friends as Slade could get with anyone. But he'd also been a listening ear for Diana. Wintergreen had taught her how to make tea properly and how to buy sheets with a decent thread count. They weren't as close as he and Slade were, but every time they spoke it was amicable. When Wintergreen left the room Slade folded his arms across his chest and sighed. The air in the room seemed lighter with the brief presence of another human being, and Diana was glad for the diversion.

"Your communicator is on the table," he said quietly, "Let me know if you need anything. I'll be back in later to check on you, and naturally I'll be taking over Terra's lessons for awhile while you recover. Don't worry about anything else for now."

"Yes, Slade," Diana murmured, picking at the hem of her bed sheet again as he stood up to leave.

"Get some rest," Slade said over his shoulder, the door sliding closed behind him.

**Author's Note: I still suck at updates. :/ Sorry guys. And any reviews are appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Slade walked out of the room and pulled up the recording of Diana's vitals on his computer tablet. Sudden spikes marred the otherwise calm trends displayed on his graph, and he frowned and ran his free hand through his hair. They now had a problem. Even if he couldn't read her facial expressions and body language, Diana's very pulse gave her away. So. It had come to this. Perhaps he'd become too relaxed around her over time. But what could he have done differently? He'd beaten her black and blue during training, never showing the slightest hint of approval unless she perfectly executed a maneuver. He never ate with her or left the compound with her unless it was for business reasons, and even then they never did anything overly "familiar" with one another. They left, completed their objective, and returned. He typically left his trademark mask on. The girl had seen him without it only a handful of times. It helped distance them, helped Slade maintain his position as her faceless employer and nothing more. And yet…somewhere he had slipped up. Perhaps she'd taken his approval at her successes to be a sign of romantic affection. Perhaps all of the nights they'd spent outside over the past three years, looking up at the stars, had set off little bubbles of oxytocin in her brain.

Whatever the case, it was obvious that she was feeling rather attracted to him, and Slade couldn't have that. Diana's employer had attempted to elicit a reaction from her during her recovery in order to confirm what he suspected was already true. She'd never given any indication of it, of course, but the way she'd looked at him when he walked in the infirmary…well. He knew that look. Perhaps he should start hooking her up to monitor leads more often. The only thing more troubling than her budding attraction toward him was her initial concern for her sister. As impartial as she claimed to be, Diana was obviously struggling with maintaining a neutral distance from Terra. They were already bickering but despite this she seemed to be growing rather fond of the girl even though they had only spent a week together.

Slade walked into his bedroom and pressed a button on the wall to lock the sliding door. Within a few minutes he was completely changed into his typical uniform, mask and all, and had closed out of the window on his tablet that displayed Diana's vitals in order to talk to Wintergreen.

"Do you know where Terra is?"

"_I believe she's still in her room."_

"Have her meet me in front of the infirmary."

"_Right away."_

He'd let Wintergreen fetch the girl instead of doing it himself. It wouldn't do to scare Terra completely out of her wits. He needed her to be coherent in order to examine Diana's interaction with her. Slade waited a few moments and leisurely walked back to the double doors of their small medical wing to find Terra biting her fingernails. A disgusting habit. She looked pale and strung out; even though Slade was almost a hundred percent sure that Wintergreen had tried to calm her down.

"Diana is going to be fine. I want you to apologize to her for her injuries."

"Okay," Terra stammered, "Okay, I can do that."

The girl was still disheveled, still dirty. Her clothes were ripped and there was dust in her stringy blond hair. She was obviously a mess, obviously still completely out of control. Slade put that thought out of his mind and pressed the button to open the door, walking in ahead of Terra. He found Diana staring into her lap, tracing the sides of the water glass on her tray with her slim fingers, obviously quite a bit bored at being confined to a bed. Her eyebrows rose at the sight of Terra but she didn't otherwise react. Slade crossed his arms over his chest and Terra walked forward, toying with a stray strand of her hair—so like her sister. Tentatively leaning forward, she placed both hands on the stark white sheets of the hospital gurney.

"I'm…really sorry," Terra said quietly, looking down at her hands, "Are you feeling at all—I mean, you're obviously not good but I mean"—

"Terra, stop," Diana interrupted, raising a hand to the nearly-hysterical girl, "I accept your apology."

"You do?" Terra said eagerly.

"Yes, I do," Diana responded, her green eyes flickering to Slade, "Just try to be more careful. And do you promise that you'll listen to me and Slade from now on?"

"Your sister could have been killed today Terra," Slade cut in flatly "Let this be a lesson to you. You can go now."

The fact that Diana was willing to forgive Terra's error so quickly didn't sit well with the criminal mastermind. He silently watched as the teenager ducked her head and scurried out of the room. When he turned back to Diana her countenance was neutral and cryptic, as it always was. Even though he had the mask on, she could tell what he was thinking. She dropped her gaze from his.

"Terra's young," Diana said quietly, "She'll learn. In time."

Slade didn't say anything. He took the tray out of her lap and placed it on the table beside the bed, tossing the crumpled napkin in the trash can behind the table. He wasn't pleased. At all. Of course Slade would never want his valuable asset to get injured, but he'd hoped that it would cement Diana's dislike of Terra for good. Instead, something was growing in Diana that was making her weak: pity.

"She'd better," Slade replied crisply.

He sat on Diana's bed and adjusted the sheet around her before he leaned in to tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear. She watched him the entire time, her solemn green eyes taking in every movement with no reaction. When his gloved fingers brushed past her ear she inhaled sharply. He touched his fingertips against her jaw for a brief moment before standing up, watching with sick satisfaction as a pink blush stained Diana's cheeks.

"I'll be back soon."

"Alright," Diana murmured.

He turned and slowly walked out of the room. He had gathered all of the information he needed, even without consulting the heart monitor. From their brief conversation and her body language, Slade had gleaned that the kinship Diana felt with Terra was growing stronger every day. Of course he wanted the pair of them to communicate, but Terra was particularly expendable. He coveted her power but only if it could be managed and controlled. If the girl died in the process then he wouldn't lose sleep over it. Diana, however, might not ever forgive him. An unforeseen consequence of his own incorrect assumptions. On the surface she might have appeared completely emotionless, but obviously Diana still had some sort of familial tie with Terra. It seemed as if the kinship his employee felt with Terra could only be outdone by Diana's fondness for _him_. If he had to use that against her, then so be it. Slade was prepared for what he had to do.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six **

Diana sensed a change in Slade during her four-week recovery period. It was subtle. On paper, it would have seemed like nothing. She would never be able to adequately describe it to anyone else because of the nature of their relationship. Perhaps it was a figment of her imagination. Perhaps she'd never noticed it before because she'd had so few opportunities to be around him when they weren't working. But still, she thought there was something different about the way he treated her now. Slade had never shown her extreme disrespect and he'd never been as condescending to her as he was to Terra, but there was another dimension to his interaction with Diana now. He was kinder.

It was terrifying.

She'd been forced to sleep in the infirmary for the first night to make sure that there were going to be no further complications from her injuries. When Diana had awoken on the second morning, the person bringing in her breakfast tray hadn't been Wintergreen. It was Slade. Slade, who sat with her while she ate, who wanted to know how she was feeling. They didn't say much but it was a comfortable silence. When he suggested moving her into her bedroom he'd picked her up himself, carrying her in and gently arranging her on the sheets. After a few days Diana became convinced that he wanted something and was biding his time. He talked to her more—even if they didn't talk he was physically _with_ her more, checking in at random intervals while she reclined among the pillows and read or surfed the internet.

On the fifth day of shuffling from the bathroom to her bed and back again, Diana began to develop cabin fever. When he sensed it, Slade suggested that the pair of them take short walks outside at dusk. That first night he had taken her out just when the sun was beginning to set, allowing her to lean against him for balance. They stood for a few moments on the top of a plateau in the cool desert air, watching orange fade to red and finally fade to black before Diana's ribs began to throb and Slade supported her as she walked back in. They made it a habit over the weeks and soon she thought nothing of leaning against him. Perhaps it was Stockholm Syndrome or perhaps she simply let her guard down, but eventually Diana grew less and less suspicious. He didn't want anything after all, it seemed. It was in her head. She blamed the queer little thump her heart made when she was around him to awkward nervousness. The way he touched her arm, the way he braided her hair for her, all the things he started telling her about himself…it became normal. She saw Terra less and less and Slade more and more.

Slade was sitting on her bed, braiding her hair, when he told Diana the news. She didn't react positively. It wasn't as if she would immediately reject any proposition of Slade's, even when it involved Terra, but Diana still had reservations. She frowned. He couldn't see her face, seated as he was behind her, but he paused for a moment with his fingers entwined in her golden hair.

"You really think that she has adequate control of her powers?"

"I do. Things have changed in your convalescence. I've built on the basics that you have taught Terra. The girl's learned quickly."

"There are just so many variables Slade," Diana sighed, "I believe you when you say that she's ready but I'm worried that she'll be caught and exposed."

"She won't be," Slade replied smoothly, "Besides…I've already set up a little test run. Remember that titanium-alloy worm Dr. Light built?"

"Yes," Diana responded, rolling her eyes at the memory of being introduced to it, "I remember it well."

The tricky part of augmenting Dr. Light's design of the worm had been in the computer system. Getting it to properly respond to internal damage by _increasing_ its laser radius had been an enormous endeavor; even for the sum of money she'd been paid. The worm was too massive for Slade's smaller operations and had sat in storage for almost a year.

"I was going to let Terra try her luck with it," Slade continued, "To get the Titans to trust her."

She let out a noncommittal murmur. It was difficult to think when he was threading his hands through her hair like he was, and Diana was silent until he put the finishing touches on her braid. Diana didn't want to admit that her ribs were feeling much better, that it almost didn't hurt at all to raise her hands up to her head anymore.

"What are you thinking?" He queried calmly, gingerly extracting himself from behind her and moving to sit at the end of her bed.

One foot was flat on the floor but her previously-wounded leg was tucked up on the bed. Diana looked down at the healing injury and shrugged, biting her lip.

"I've asked for your opinion," Slade continued, his tone casual but firm.

He tilted her chin up and forced her eyes to meet his. Diana wanted to look away but felt obligated to keep looking at him, even as his gaze skirted downward and he surveyed her face. If they had been any closer they could have kissed. But it was Slade, after all. Of course they weren't going to.

"Well Diana?"

"I'm afraid that she'll blow cover and they'll kill her. I don't know if she can pull this off."

"You _know_ the Titans aren't killers," he said, cupping her face in his hand, "And even if they had her transported to prison we could remove her. As for pulling it off, I've made her mentally prepare. You handle the logistics and let me see to the operational aspects…and the worrying."

"Alone?"

The word slipped out before she could stop it and she bit her lip. For a brief moment, silence reigned in the room. Slade looked taken aback for a moment and he dropped his hand before nodding and standing up and walking toward the door.

"_Alone_. Now get some rest. We have a spy to plant in the morning."

"Yes, Slade," Diana answered automatically, thinking nothing of obeying him again and turning over to go to sleep.

**Author's Note: I hope people are still reading this! Reviews/criticisms/critiques are always appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_He slammed his mask on the bathroom counter and stepped in the shower, tossing off his black uniform in the process. The metal alloy reinforcements on the garment clinked sharply against the bathroom floor but Slade didn't hear the sound. His index finger punched the digital water temperature readout higher until the shower was steaming hot, and for a few moments stood still. When the shower was done and his brain had stopped buzzing he stepped out and mindlessly dried off before wrapping a towel around his waist. Slicking back his white hair, he adjusted his eye patch and stepped into the bedroom, stopping short in the doorway. _

"_What __exactly __do you think you're doing?" He asked frigidly, his gaze locked on the woman in his bed._

_She lounged in the middle of the bed like she owned it, arms casually draped out over the pillows as she smiled her soft little smile at him. Her blonde hair was loose and fell over one eye as she stretched, the white sheet that covered her sliding lower and lower down her chest and drawing his gaze like a magnet._

"_Waiting for you," she sighed, "Aren't you coming to bed?"_

"_That's enough," Slade said, his tone uncertain as he drew closer, "Stop this foolishness now."_

_He could see the outline of her body under the sheet and she slid one leg out from under it, pointing her toe and looking up at him expectantly. The long, lean muscles of her bare thigh taunted him, and against his own volition he moved forward to sit on the edge of the bed. _

"_You should leave," he continued warily, his hand touching her calf as she reached up for him, beckoning him closer._

_Trailing his fingers up her leg, he leaned in and stared into her green eyes, drowning in them until he closed his own and pressed his mouth against hers—_

Beep….beep…beep….beep…

"_Damn it,"_ Slade swore, jerking awake and slamming a hand down on the alarm.

He gave a low growl and threw the blanket off of himself, stomping to the bathroom to splash cold water on his sweating face. He glared at himself in the mirror, displeased. A disheveled, blue-eyed man with uncombed white hair glared back. All the meditation and the exercise…what was it worth if he couldn't control his thoughts? But dreams _weren't_ thoughts, were they? They were just random, unorganized synapses in the brain, left over from a day's worth of thinking.

Thinking about things he shouldn't.

It had been one week since they had sent Terra on her merry way, and the girl was adapting well, from what Diana was reporting. Perhaps Slade should have been thinking more about Terra and less about her older sister, since so far Terra's placement was working out nicely. Diana had been able to tap into the girl's communicator and Terra had brought a laptop with her to Titans Tower. Eventually she'd be able to get a full schematic of the security system. But that was a job for another day.

He grabbed a pair of black tactical pants and slid on a black t-shirt. Black socks, black shoes. No armor today, no mask. It was Monday. For the rest of the world, that meant the start of a work week. Back to the salt mines, back to corporate 9-5. For Slade and Diana, it meant down time. The beginning of the week, he had explained to his solemn young employee years ago, signaled the beginning of the rest of the world going on high alert. While nonetheless resentful about the weekend's end, companies rotated out the weekend shift of guards and replaced them with their better, full-time staff. Policemen were more vigilant on their patrols; guards more thorough in their rounds. Why attack or steal or destroy anything on the days when the people watching for it are more prepared?

Slade casually walked into the kitchen and was greeted with the sight of Diana peeling an orange. She sat cross-legged in a chair, back straight, as she looked down at her long, slim fingers. They deftly worked at the brightly-colored fruit, cradling it over a napkin. When she plucked a small piece of skin off of it she flicked it into a small bowl and went back to peeling, biting her lip in concentration. Her hair was braided, and a few strands had escaped the severe style to frame her face.

"Good morning," she said, glancing up at him before looking back at her breakfast.

He was aware that she loved orange juice and would drink it by the gallon if she could. However, if Diana drank it in the morning it made her extremely drowsy, no matter how much rest she'd gotten. Oranges were the next best thing and didn't make her want to fall asleep. Slade stood in the kitchen and silently hated himself for knowing such trivial information.

"Morning," he replied finally, nodding at Wintergreen when the older man walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning to both of you," Wintergreen rasped, "I've put on some tea."

Slade eased himself into a chair across from Diana and for a moment she paused in her motions, her green eyes flickering up at him before looking back down, ever-sensitive to any change of routine. He didn't sit with her very often. Of course, he didn't send her little sister off to spy on the Titans very often either. Seven days had passed since Terra's successful integration into the team and so far she hadn't managed to screw anything up, but that didn't mean that Diana had relaxed. Or did it?

"Thank you," she said to Wintergreen as he brought her and Slade steaming mugs of tea before walking into the hallway.

At the moment Diana seemed totally at ease. She didn't have dark circles under her eyes and her expression remained neutral as she sipped her drink. He had the illogical urge to reach out and tuck her bangs, which had fallen over one eye, behind her ear. Slade kept his restraint, and when Diana looked up she absentmindedly did the deed herself.

"Could we spar today?" She queried, "Last week you said I needed to work on defending at my left side."

"If you'd like. You should do more with the bo staff as well."

Diana wrinkled her nose.

"I am _well _aware that you aren't fond of it," Diana's boss continued mildly, "But it's a valuable tool. Eventually you'll learn to think of it as an extension of your own body and we can put that dancer's grace to good use."

Her cheeks turned pink and she nodded, tracing one slim finger around the edge of her mug of tea.

"Eat your breakfast." Slade said.

He stood up and finished off the tea before walking to the counter and putting the mug in the sink, touching Diana on the shoulder as he left.

"I'll see you in the training room in ten minutes," he continued over his own shoulder, walking into the hallway to find Wintergreen adjusting the thermostat, his eyebrows raised as he shot a glance at Slade.

"Don't look at me like that. I know what I'm doing," the mercenary stated quietly, turning his broad shoulders so he could pass by the older man.

"Never said you didn't sir," Wintergreen replied briskly, walking back toward the kitchen.

Slade rolled his eye as he moved down the hallway to the training room in order to put on some light protective gear under his clothes. Diana _was _getting better, and there was no reason not to suit up in order to be prepared. One day she might actually land a blow to his ribs or groin and he would prefer to remain at least relatively uninjured. Slade stretched in front of the mirrored back wall, rolling his shoulders and reaching down to grasp his ankles. He performed a few other stretches and saw Diana walk in out of the corner of his eye, cracking her knuckles and looking warily about the room. She walked to stand beside him and eased herself down into the splits, eyeing her reflection in the mirror. He knew what she was looking for-muscle tone in her triceps. A weak spot for most women, though most women couldn't do push-ups or pull-ups the way his employee could.

He surreptitiously eyed her reflection in the mirror while she continued her stretches. Diana stood up and pointed her toe, raising her arms and flourishing her fingers in what was undoubtedly a pose left over from her ballet days. When she saw him watching her she lowered her arms and continued with a more utilitarian form of stretching.

"Are you ready?" Slade asked, moving to the sidelines to grab a pair of his retractable bo staves, "First things first."

He tossed her a staff and she smiled her small little smile at his remark. In the past Diana would have simply nodded, but in some ways she seemed freer around him now that he'd saved her life. In other ways, though, she was still closed off and reserved. Not that he didn't enjoy that about her, as Terra had shown him what a headache someone so brash and free with her emotions could be.

"Terra is coming in sometime today, when she can slip away without being noticed," Slade said, backing away from her and twirling his staff.

"Oh?" Diana replied neutrally, shifting into a defensive stance, "What's the occasion?"

It was a game he played with her. To test her, to distract her. She knew what was happening and she tried to maintain focus. He'd talk to her, prattle on, sometimes incessantly. In the real world there were innumerable distractions and she had to be prepared for them. When she was stealing something a guard wasn't going to direct her to the nearest silent practice room so that they could spar alone. She might have to deal with multiple opponents and alien environments and who knew what else.

"She has information from the Titans' database for you," Slade grunted, shoving her off of him when she grabbed at his arm.

"I'll analyze it as soon as she's here," Diana replied, her slim hand reaching up to his shoulder as she used him for leverage to execute a flip.

Slade reached back without looking and caught her bo staff, wrenching her down and slamming her on the ground. Diana hit the mat with a thud and he heard her force the air out of her lungs as she made impact so her wind wouldn't get ejected of its own accord. Good.

"Keep the staff _up_ and away from me."

Diana rolled to a standing position and her grip on the bo staff slackened. But when Slade lunged for it she was ready. Vaulting away from him, she slammed the staff across his back and he stumbled.

"Should_ I_ debrief her?"

"You should," he replied, pleased that she would think to ask.

Slade rolled forward to avoid the bo and for a few moments they sparred in silence. Diana seemed to stay in the present, focusing on her movements. She was a quick study. It was one of the only reasons he'd brought her on in the first place. He wasn't the type of person to play "sensei" and sometimes teaching Terra was a challenge for his temper. He had taken Robin on to torture the boy (because there was no way in hell he'd ever get Robin to join him willingly) but had he been inclined, Robin would have made a decent apprentice—he was proficient in the martial arts to begin with.

"Get the information she's giving you and prepare to report on it tomorrow morning. Of course, we'll discuss all of this later as _well."_

He punctuated the remark by swinging at her ribs on the side where she had been injured. Diana barely brought her own bo up in time and the force of the hit sent her backward, where she fell hard on the ground. She didn't get up. Retracting his staff, Slade warily circled her and moved closer, dropping down to both knees beside her. His pulse quickened. What if he'd actually—

Diana shot up and knocked him under the chin with her bo staff and jumped on top of him, fingers scrambling for his throat as they landed back on the ground. He fell backward and assessed the placement of her fingers. She had the bo pressed to one side of his neck and her free hand squeezing down on his carotid. They locked gazes and she froze. With his peripheral vision Slade could see a bead of sweat that slid down from her neck into the front of her black tank top.

"Good," Slade said approvingly, "That's good. How are your ribs?"

"I felt the blow but they don't ache," she replied, her ankles still hooked with his as she sat on top of him, ever-watchful for another attack.

Slade bucked and she involuntarily lurched forward. Hooking her arm, he rolled her off of him so that he was on top. She squirmed in his grip as he knocked her bo away and leaned forward, digging one knee into the pressure point inside of her thigh. Locking a hand around her throat, Slade tightened his grip and leaned more of his weight on top of her. Diana remained silent, her fingers scrabbling at his as she looked for a way to get free.

"Are you going to tap out?" he asked with interest, watching her expression as he put the full force of his weight on top of her.

She shook her head and her face turned red as he kept squeezing at her neck. There wasn't really a way to get out, at least a way that he had taught her, that didn't involve flipping him…but he'd already trapped her feet. However, she kept trying, her own bare feet pushing against his legs as she writhed around underneath him. He wasn't going to show her any mercy until she tapped out and Slade took the opportunity afforded to him to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear and survey her face.

"I'm just going to keep choking you, my dear," Slade continued wickedly, "Is that what you want?"

They locked eyes again and Diana swallowed, averting her gaze. Their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching and he could read her every expression. It was with much reluctance that Diana drew her slender hands up and placed them over his, and it was with more reluctance that she slapped his fingers twice, signaling that she was throwing in the towel. Diana whimpered when Slade moved off of the pressure point against her thigh. He quickly removed his fingers from her neck and the two of them looked at each other for a moment, Slade studying the red marks he had made against her pale skin. They would fade in time and probably wouldn't bruise. If the pair of them didn't have an impressionable adolescent to deal with in a few hours, he would have pressed harder. A brief wisp of a fantasy crept into his head; he quickly blinked it away and stood up, holding out a hand to Diana. She regarded it suspiciously and remained on the floor.

"Get up," he ordered, and she grudgingly placed her hand in his before getting to her feet.

"_Sir, Terra is set to arrive in approximately ten minutes," _Wintergreen interjected over the intercom.

"Can you shower that quickly?" Slade asked Diana, jerking his head toward the door when she nodded, "Then go. I'll send her to your room when she arrives."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Diana quickly showered and dressed before staring at the marks around her throat in the bathroom mirror. They were ugly and red and some were starting to bruise in the shape of Slade's fingertips. She stroked them slowly with her own fingertips, tilting her head to look at them in the light. Diana surveyed herself with level eyes. Blond hair severely restrained in a bun, black tank top, black shorts, no makeup. She'd never been one to dwell too much on appearances, and every scar or bruise she'd gotten from training had always been a quiet point of pride. Back in her ballet days she'd been stuck with the label of "prissy ballerina" by the people outside her class even though she had been anything but. People in her Krav Maga section had been surprised when she'd taken hits and had matched them blow for blow. After she'd gotten good at it no one was surprised anymore. She lightly touched the red marks on her neck again. Slade could have killed her, could have snapped her neck while he was on top of her, but he didn't.

"_Hey, are you in there?"_

She heard a teenaged hand slapping the metal door of her bathroom and Diana gritted her teeth, flicking the switch that unlocked it. Inside of her room stood a beaming Terra, complete with a whole new outfit and communicator strapped to her waist. She looked well-fed and healthy, her khaki shorts and black shirt emblazoned with a "T", and Diana couldn't decide if it stood for "Terra" or "Titans". She hoped it was the former.

"I swear to God, if that thing's on you're a dead man," Diana said, pointing emphatically at the communicator, causing Terra to back up and protectively clutch the device.

"No, it's off! Slade took care of it before I came in here."

"Good," Diana replied, taking a seat at her desk, "Because if it's on inside of this compound the Titans have an _instant _record of where you've been. They could find all of us down here."

"I know. Slade took the battery out of it. It's fine."

Terra flopped onto Diana's light blue bedspread and leaned back against the pillows.

"Just make sure that it stays out. How long do you have, anyway? Before they expect you back?"

"Well," Terra said, biting her lip and fiddling with the hem of her black shirt, "Star and I are supposed to go shopping at two, so I guess about…what time is it, ten? Anyway, we're supposed to go to the mall so I have three and a half hours. I don't know if I have that much stuff for you though."

"Okay," Diana replied warily, distrusting the enthusiastic tone in her younger sibling's voice, "Well, I need to get all the information I can off of your flash drive and communicator. I also need to debrief you. Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah, Robin explained it to me. We pretty much have to do it after every mission. I've only been on three but it's pretty boring. You just sit around and basically say everything that happened to you and all of the stuff you know about whatever's going on. Speaking of missions, Beast Boy has this _hilarious _thing that he does"—

"_Terra_," Diana said sharply, "I need you to focus."

The other girl fell silent and looked at her with wide, dark blue eyes.

"You sound like Slade."

"Good," she responded, ignoring the flush that came to her cheeks, "Now. First of all, I need you to give me your communicator so that I can take it apart later."

"Why? They'll kill me if I lose it," Terra groaned, placing her hand over the yellow and black device.

"No they won't, they'll just issue you another one. Say you lost it out in the desert or pretend to lose it when you're fighting in the city."

"Fine," Terra sighed, handing it over.

Diana took the communicator and placed it on her desk, fighting with the back for a moment before she popped open the battery port. Slade had obviously already taken the battery from Terra to make sure that one stupid mistake didn't advertise their location. Structurally, the communicator was ever so slightly different from the one she'd managed to get her hands on before—Cyborg had obviously been making modifications to its design. She pushed the communicator aside for the moment and turned back to Terra, who was reclined in the bed and staring listlessly up at the white ceiling.

"Flash drive?"

"Here ya go."

Terra fished around in her tactical shorts and tossed Diana a tiny black flash drive. Reached in the top drawer of her desk, Diana drew out a slender tablet computer and plugged the drive in. It instantly recognized the device and started downloading files, which were quickly added to Slade's computer system. A frown creased her brow.

"This is all the information you were able to get, Terra?"

"Yeah. I got onto the wifi and got that password, and I was only hooked up to the living room computer for like two seconds before Cyborg and Beast Boy came in. I had to unplug it really fast. I know that Cyborg has a computer in his room and so does Robin. There's also one in the basement, but BB says that's just for records and boring stuff."

"You know Slade wants it all, right?"

"I know," Terra replied, "I'll get it eventually. Hey, can I get lunch? I'm starving."

"Sure. Go find Wintergreen."

Terra hopped off of the bed and walked quickly out the door. The silence left Diana alone with her thoughts as she straightened up the pillows that Terra had knocked to the floor and smoothed the bedspread. She was starting to become very, very uneasy with the entire situation. Terra seemed entirely too fond of the Titans and Diana didn't know how to sever that bond. If Terra saw them as her friends it could present an enormous, unforeseen obstacle to Slade. With a heavy sigh, Diana called up his earpiece on her tablet and talked into it.

"Slade. I've met with Terra. I pulled the information she brought off of the flash drive and have taken her communicator. She's gone to eat lunch before I debrief her. I…I need to talk to you."

For a moment she heard nothing and Diana bit her lip. Perhaps she was being too conversational with her boss. Perhaps he was irritated with her; she should have sounded more professional—

"_Are you in your bedroom?"_

"Yes. I'm going to get properly dressed and then I can meet you at your location"—

"_Stay. I'll come to you."_

"A-alright," Diana replied, and no sooner had she put down the computer tablet than Slade walked in the door.

She turned around in the desk chair and he wordlessly sat down on the edge of her bed. It seemed strange, now that she was healed, that he should be there. Diana awkwardly placed her hands in her lap.

"What did you need to discuss?"

"It's Terra. She's seemed to develop something akin to Stockholm Sydrome, being with those Titans. We need to do something about it."

Diana heard her own voice, more firm than she'd intended to make it, and it surprised her. Why did she care so much? Two months ago Terra had been nothing to her, and now…this? She smoothed a hesitant hand over her bun and watched Slade's face. It was as inscrutable as his mask, his cold grey eye solemnly flickering over her as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I agree."

Diana let out the breath she had been holding.

"I have a plan," he said calmly, and the blood rushing in her veins slowed to a lethargic crawl, his voice smooth and even and self-assured, "I've ordered a specialized suit from Doctor Light. It will augment Terra's abilities while providing me with some degree of control. I need you to set up the interface."

She heard him as if through molasses and bit her lip as Slade's hand went up to toy with the neckline of his black shirt. Diana swallowed hard. She processed everything slowly, from afar, and Slade's keen stare watched her and moved over her face. At any other time Diana would have protested such a radical, controlling approach, would have listened to the side of herself that said something was wrong. But now, she didn't.

"I'll take a look at it," Diana mumbled, staring down at her folded hands.

**Author's Note: **Thank you to everyone who has had the time and patience to keep reading this! Just so you know, I am going to graduate school this fall, which means no more fanfiction writing for me, unfortunately. So every single of one of my stories that I'm going to finish will be run to completion by the end of this August—no more annoying wait times for you guys! Thanks again for reading, and as always reviews/critiques are always welcomed and appreciated.


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